Admirals extend winning streak to three with series-opening triumph in Maine

The Norfolk Admirals erased a two-goal deficit Friday night to beat the host Maine Mariners 5-4 before 3,413 in Portland.

Stepan Timofeyev netted the tying and go-ahead goals and had an assist to gain No. 1 star honors, and Yaniv Perets made 16 saves to give Norfolk the victory in the opener of a three-game, three-day series at Cross Insurance Arena.

The Admirals (26-18-3-1) extended their winning streak to three and controlled much of the game, outshooting the Boston Bruins’ ECHL affiliate 38-20.

But just 9:28 into the game, Maine (19-21-5-0) went ahead 2-0 with goals by Tyler Drevitch and Alex Kile in a nine-second span. The Admirals’ Danny Katic cut the lead in half by scoring at 14:24 off assists from Mark Liwiski and Chesapeake native Brandon Osmundson.

Timofeyev bookended the second period with goals 23 seconds after the opening faceoff and with just three seconds left on the clock. Dmitry Kuzmin and Denis Smirnov gained assists, leaving the Admirals ahead 3-2 at the second intermission.

The final period was back and forth. Brady Fleurent made it 4-2 at the 4:17 mark, but the Mariners’ Nathan Noel cut the margin to 4-3 at 9:57. Carson Golder, recently returned to the Admirals from the American Hockey League, scored at 16:40 for a 5-3 lead, but Kile netted his second goal of the night at 18:04.

The Mariners pulled goalie Kyle Keyser but couldn’t manage an equalizer. The Admirals are second in the Eastern Conference’s seven-team North Division, while the Mariners are fifth.